Category Archives: Life Transition Rituals

This poem was sent to me by a dear friend and mentor. Like myself he loves the arrival of the winter solstice for all the hope it brings. For those of you in the northern hemisphere, may the days of growing light bring more hope each day. For those in the south, comfort, as you move into your seasons of comfort, rest and quiet.Regardless of where you are on our small planet, may you share love and receive abundance and as we transition to a new year.

The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

So the shortest day came, and the year died,

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world

Came people singing, dancing,

to drive the dark away.

They lighted candles in the winter trees;

They hung their homes with evergreen;

They burned beseeching fires all night long

To keep the year alive,

And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake

They shouted, revelling.

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them

Echoing behind us – Listen!!

All the long echoes sing the same delight,

This shortest day,

As promise wakens in the sleeping land:

They carol, fest, give thanks,

And dearly love their friends,

And hope for peace.

And so do we, here, now,

This year and every year.

Welcome Yule!!

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Why no images on our blog? Wedding images come and go with fashion and with the season, so many and so varied. We feel it is the words you share with each other, during your wedding ceremony, that are some of the most significant and intimate words you will ever share and, like gems, are unique and personal.

Hilary and Mike wanted to include the traditional Polish Bread and Salt Blessing in their wedding ceremony. We found in our research that a bread and salt blessing ritual ceremony is a tradition shared by many cultures. The following outline is modified from a variety of Polish Bread and Salt Blessing sources.

The Polish Bread and Salt Blessing

We suggest, for a good flow to the ceremony, to place the bread and salt blessing within the wedding ceremony after the Exchange of Rings, the Pronouncement and the Kiss, AND before the Final Blessing and Dismissal.

Introduction:
Celebrant: (In these or similar words) “The Bread and Salt Blessing is a long cherished Polish tradition which has been passed down through the centuries. It symbolizes the union of the Bride and Groom and their families”.
I invite____ parent’s forward to give the blessing.

Ceremony Description and Text
~The parents of the bride and groom come forward and present to the couple bread and salt and a glass of wine.
~The celebrant, or one of the parents, can narrate the action and add appropriate words.
~The parents sprinkle the bread with salt and give the bread to both of the newlyweds to eat.
-The bread represents the parent’s hope that their children will never experience hunger or need.
-The salt reminds the couple that their life might difficult at times and they must learn together to cope with life’s struggles.
-The parents now present the glass of wine to the Bride and Groom for each of them to drink. With the wine, the parents hope that they will never thirst and the couple will have a life of good health and cheer and share the company of many good friends.
~The parents now join in kissing the bride and groom as a welcome to the family and as a sign of their love and unity.”
~Parents return to their places.

The wedding ceremony ends with the Final Blessing
The bride and groom proceed down the aisle or otherwise leave the ceremony site.

Why no images on our blog? Wedding images come and go and there are so many and so varied. We feel it is the words you share with each other, during your wedding ceremony, that are some of the most significant and intimate words you will ever share and, like gems, are personally yours.

Love is the most powerful of all human alchemies. As wedding officiants, we are blessed with the awesome task to witness two human lives changing the course of human history. With the saying of a few words lives are forever transformed. In the utterance of those few words, two singular orbiting galaxies melt and in their new bond heaven is redesigned, the world is recreated.

And yet, this flash is not a flash, but the result of the silent, ever gradual, metamorphosis of what it takes to grow a human. In this chemistry of time, this pregnancy of relationship, in the womb of presence, words, and emotions, hearts are healed and made whole and this love is born, only to be shared.

We have been writing for a few months. We have been reflecting on the many weddings we have celebrated and how each is beautiful and unique since each is the celebration of the love of a special couple. During our time writing and reflecting, we have expanded the idea of this blog to include ideas about the celebration of other life rituals: birth, death, transition, and mostly some form of life changing experience. We feel individuals, couples and families want to celebrate these key moments but some time just do not know where to start. It is our hope some of these ideas will enhance the quality of life we are each called to celebrate.